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Classified Justice Department opinion authorizes strikes on secret list of cartels: Report
The Justice Department’s classified opinion permits lethal strikes on a secret cartel list, enabling an expanded counter-drug campaign with at least four military strikes in the Caribbean.
- The Trump administration produced a classified legal opinion from the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel authorizing lethal strikes on a secret list of cartels and suspected traffickers.
- The OLC opinion is part of a ramped up campaign that expands Central Intelligence Agency authorities for lethal targeting and covert action in the region.
- The most recent strike, conducted last week, killed four people, while a Defense Department memo to lawmakers cited the OLC opinion, calling the situation an `armed conflict` with `unlawful combatants`.
- Multiple current and former JAGs told CNN that Pentagon lawyers cannot overrule the Justice Department's opinion, which lawmakers have repeatedly requested, while Attorney General Pam Bondi is scheduled to testify Tuesday.
- Legal experts warn the opinion appears to justify an open-ended war by allowing the president to designate drug-trafficking groups entering the United States as enemy combatants.
45 Articles
45 Articles
Why US military action against Latin America’s cartels won’t win the war on drugs
The Trump administration appears to be laying the groundwork for a possible military escalation against Latin American drug traffickers. Rawpixel.com / ShutterstockAt the start of September 2025, US president Donald Trump sent a naval task force into the Caribbean to tackle drug trafficking in the region. The initiative has led to strikes on four alleged drug boats off the Venezuelan coast so far, killing at least 21 people. The strikes have bee…
Trump ends Venezuela talks; Classified opinion backs strikes on cartels
President Donald Trump has halted diplomatic outreach to Venezuela, according to U.S. officials cited by The New York Times. CNN separately reported that his administration is relying on a classified Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) opinion that authorizes lethal strikes against a secret list of cartels and suspected traffickers. The Times reported that the instruction effectively ended talks led by envoy Richard Grenell. It came…
As the war against narcoterrorism continues, the Trump Administration drafted a classified legal opinion authorizing the use of lethal force against a secret and extensive list of established cartels and drug traffickers, on the grounds that they represent an imminent threat to the national security of the United States.Read more]]>
It would be a technical document that sets out the legal basis for the strategy of lethal attacks against alleged drug traffickers.
Trump admin secretly compiled list of cartels whose boats they can bomb: report
The Trump administration drafted a classified analysis that permitted itself to summarily order airstrikes on ships allegedly operated by a specific list of drug cartels, reported CNN on Monday."The opinion, which was produced by the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel and has not been prev...
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